Tube ads tell commuters: ‘Real men get raped’

Post your comment

Reader comments

The attitude towards Rape in this country is backwards anyway. It’s only really recently the Women have been able to be able to talk about it, the fact Men feel they have to hide something like this is utterly shameful in todays soceity…

But then, what can we expect from a country that has archaic rape law anyway. It was only in 1991 that a man was found guilty of raping his wife (previously he couldn’t be found guilty of that crime)… And today, I mean come on… A woman could knock a man out, pump him full of god knows what, force herself upon him against his wishes, become pregnant and not only will she not be found guilty of rape (as rape requires penetration) she’d probably win the right to child support… disgusting.

No, it’s quite clear from reading the comment that he’s just disgusted that men raping their wives wasn’t illegal until 1991.

Also, it is important to remember that women can rape men. Which again is something that goes against the idea that men are always in control, and even more so because people might assume that (a) the man wanted it because men always want sex, and (b) the man must be weak because he was unable to stop himself being raped by a ‘weaker’ woman.

Actually there have been several cases in English Law where Women have been let off a rape charge because a woman can’t rape a man unless he is penetrated…

One particular case had 4 women drug a guy, drag him out a bar into an ally way, then forced themselves upon him whilst he tried to resist. Rape? Yes! Convicted? No…Why? Women can’t rape men, it was seen as a sexual assault and that’s all they got… horrific, archaic rape laws…

You are probably refering to ‘Piranhas’ which refers to young women who deliberatly get themselves pregnant by wealthy, middle-aged men when then sting them for up to £4000 per month child support so they don’t have to work for a living. This is thanks to the Child Support Agency which extracts money from absent fathers on an ‘ability-to-pay’ basis which effectively leaves them with barely enough money to eat, drink, sleep, p**s and s**t.

I’ve been trough that but luckily with my man. Me completely coma and if there wouldn’t be for a home made video how he rides me, me lying on my back I would never believe it. So technically it can happen.

A woman cannot “force herself on a man” for the simple reason that the man would be required to have an erection, and this would indicate sexual arousal and in the eyes of the law that he demonstrated consent in the act.

Additionally, the campaign (and the article willingly goes along with this) insinuates that the fear of being perceived as gay if you report being sexually assaulted is legitimate (which, unfortunately, it can be). But instead of questioning that notion, i.e. challenging homophobia, the campaign, to some extent, simply excuses it. I mean, what if you are gay and sexually assaulted? This campaign might actually alienate you even further.

‘The review recognised that men do not come forward for fear of being ridiculed or not believed and out of fear they may be seen as gay.’
So yet another social problem would be solved or mitigated if homophobia were erradicated. What a surprise.

Who exactly are the perpetrators of these so called rapes of males? Why aren’t they being identified in terms of their orientation and type of males they are? I think the majority of straight males wouldn’t agree that men can be raped unless they’re gay of course. Immediately I saw this, I thought this was directed at gay men. It may not be homophobic but the first thing I thought of was gay men..

I once heard of a man raping another man in a homophobic attack. If the rapist was genuinely straight then he wouldn’t have been able to ‘get it up’. Maybe it shows that many homophobic incidents are carried out by self-loathing gays who couldn’t come to terms with their sexuality.

” If the rapist was genuinely straight then he wouldn’t have been able to ‘get it up”

What a load of nonsense. I agree that there would be some cases in which homophobic attacks are motivated by the attacker’s closeted homosexuality, but that is not to say that all male rapists must be homosexual. Rape is about violence not sex, sexual attraction has nothing to do with it.

Don’t be such a prat. A gay man can rape a woman, but that doesn’t make him straight.
Sexuality is a psychological imprint, and as most of us know, cannot be changed, however, there are many cases of men having sex with men (such as prisons, on ships etc.) where men will have sex with other men because there is no alternative. Once this situation changes they go back to going with women. It doesn’t make them gay, or even bisexual, it simply means they are hard up.

I am surprised at this comment from you. You are usually well informed and thoughtful.

Orientation is not an issue in most rapes. Its about the thrill of having power over someone and using sex to do that. The fact the victim is the same gender or oppositie gender sometimes is irrelevant – its about controlling. So a gay man can rape a woman. A straight man can rape a man. It doesnt change their orientation though.

Lets keep in mind rape needn’t be just for sexual pleasure , it’s an act of violence and sometimes rage to dominate .
That being said I think this campaign has a decent message trying to console men with too much ego .
I just wish it they would have made a caption with something along the lines of “Men get raped, Wake up ” Or something rather than “Real” men which gives the feeling of men who aren’t into being all rugged and overtly macho just asking for it. But I guess this message just is an eye opener to the general public who don’t think this far into it .

By the same proviso could somebody demonstrate what a “non-real man” is and how you would define such a person? I think by using a description like like one is seriously painting oneself into a very nasty corner.

I agree. I personally consider a real man to be anyone who identifies as male and not something which should be determined by anything more extrinsic than that! Taking that on board, it seems rather pointless to use the word real in the first place. Though I do think a lot of rape misconceptions come from old fashioned gender dominance ideology. Though I don’t agree with the word ‘real’ in that context, I think maybe the advertisers are simply using it ironically in order to capture the attention of the target audience in hope of bringing about a change in their attitudes.

This isn’t a warning.There is a weird belief amongst straight men that they cannot be raped, because “real men don’t get raped” – i.e. they should be able to fight it off and because they aren’t effeminate or gay they wouldn’t be targets in the first place. And so when someone actually does get raped – because rape is about power and dominance and not sex, meaning literally anyone is a target – all those assumptions they had before hold them back from reporting it because they think everyone else holds those assumptions and will see them as weak and pathetic or gay (gasp!). They see themselves as weak, defeated, emasculated, ashamed, and they believe that that’s how the world will see them too. The poster is designed to show people that those assumptions are not true, it can and does happen and it doesn’t make you less of a man. As such, the thing is about the victims of rape and I’d say it’s a good thing.

I may be wrong but some of these comments seem to reflect society’s misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding the issue of rape. Again I may be wrong but old fashioned gender dominance ideology may be to blame for this.

Anyone can get raped. Sexually assaulting someone does not have to involve penetration. Rape in any form should be taken SERIOUSLY!

Regarding the article: I’m not entirely sure what a real man is. Although I agree with the advertiser’s motives, I think their choice of words is questionable. Then again those words do kind of address people with that old fashioned male dominance attitude.

At first glance when I saw this I thought this was actually promoting rape before I re-read it. Then I came to the next conclusion that it compounds the stereotype against homosexual men. It doesn’t explicity say anything homophobic, that it relies of existing stereotypes by joining the words real and men that it implies they are greater victims than less real men and/or gay men aren’t real men because otherwise why would real men not say anything in fear of being gay.

I don’t just thing it’s word badly, I truly thing it should be pulled. I find it quite offensive and I don’t care that the shock tactic may at least get some people talking. I think it will in the end make it about straight men being raped and gay men being raped as less equal as a way of targeting its straight audience.

PinkNews covers religion, politics, entertainment, finance, and community news for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the UK and worldwide. Founded to produce broadsheet quality journalism for the LGBT community, we cover politics to theology in an intelligent manner.